Cooking with garlic

Pasta with Garlic, Bacon, and Beet Greens or Chard

1 large bunch of chard or beet greens
4 slices bacon
1 medium head of garlic
6 ounces farfalle (bow tie) pasta
Extra virgin olive oil
Grated Romano cheese
Salt and pepper

Remove stems from the chard or beet greens and reserve for another use. Coarsely chop the greens and set aside. For a more rustic version, you can include the chopped stems.

Sauté the bacon until crisp, remove from pan, and mince or crumble after it has cooled.

Begin heating the pasta water and cook pasta until al dente. Drain all but a tablespoon of the bacon fat from the sauté pan. Mince garlic, add to pan, lightly salt, and sauté until straw or light tan color. Add the chopped greens, toss, and cover to steam, stirring occasionally. Sprinkles of water can be added as necessary so the greens cook in their own steam without drying. Cook about 7 to 10 minutes, or to desired doneness. Stir in a few tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil and freshly ground pepper to taste.

Toss with the drained pasta, add grated Romano and the crumbled bacon bits, and toss again. Plate and top with additional grated Romano.

Any pasta will do, but the farfalle provides a large flat area so that the greens stick well and do not end up at the bottom of the plate. Myzythra is an alternative to Romano. Parmesan is another possibility, but in this dish the sheep’s milk character of (authentic) Romano or Myzythra seem to complement the greens particularly well. Rocambole, Purple Stripe, Asiatic, and some of the more flavorful Artichoke garlics suit this preparation well.

Pasta with Garlic, Ham, and Summer Squash

4 to 6 small to medium zucchini or other summer squash
2 to 4 ounces of quality ham
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium head garlic, minced
4 to 6 ounces orecchiette pasta
1/3 to 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper

Slice the zucchini lengthwise into halves or quarters, depending on the size of the squash, then cut crosswise into pieces about 1/4 in. thick.

Slice the ham thinly, then cut lengthwise, and then crosswise, forming roughly dime-sized pieces.

Begin heating the pasta water and cook pasta until al dente.

Sauté the ham in the olive oil until it begins to brown. Add minced garlic to the pan and sauté until straw to light tan color. Add the zucchini, sprinkle with salt, and toss. Sauté on high heat so that the zucchini will lose its moisture and begin to brown. Moderate the heat as necessary to keep the garlic from burning as the zucchini cooks. When the zucchini is lightly browned and tender but not mushy, add the cooked pasta and toss. Next, add half the Parmesan and toss again. Plate and top with the remaining Parmesan.

The ham is primarily for flavor, so a high-quality dry ham is preferable, and less will be required for the desired flavor effect. The water added sponges that sometimes pass for ham in the supermarket can be used if none other is available, but more will be required and the overall result will not be quite as good. Many other pasta shapes will also work, though spaghetti and its linear relatives do not lend themselves to uniform distribution with the zucchini mixture. Romano, Myzythra, and Asiago are other good cheese alternatives.

Summer squash is in its prime about the time the Rocambole garlics are in their prime, and this has become a favorite dish that features both.

Garlic Dressing

1/8 teaspoon salt
Black pepper
1 medium clove garlic or more
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar or balsamic vinegar
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Peel the garlic and mince finely or crush through a garlic press into a small bowl. Add the salt and press into the garlic with the back of a spoon until the garlic forms a paste. Add freshly ground black pepper and vinegar, then whisk. Add the olive oil and whisk again to blend. Pour over salad greens and toss.

Vary the amount of garlic, salt, and vinegar according to taste. Add herbs with the vinegar as desired. For a dressing for cooked vegetables, reduce the amount of vinegar by half or so. The dressing works well with cooked broccoli, Brussels sprouts, most greens, and various other vegetables.

This calls for a garlic that is richly flavored but mild in heat. Rocamboles are ideal. After they have passed their prime, Purple Stripes are excellent substitutes. After Purple Stripes have passed their prime, Ajo Rojo and some of the “sweeter” Creoles are good choices.

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